The right fork
Price wars are nothing new, but a price war in the cutlery market could be making casualties of caterers.
Restaurant and hotel buyers are falling foul of a flood of cheap Far Eastern imports at as little as £2.50 per seven-piece place setting. They are being approached direct by "garden-shed" operators: one-man bands with a consignment of end-of-line cutlery at silly prices.
This has apparently driven some established cutlery firms to buy in cheaper, lower-quality ranges themselves so that they can compete on price. One leading British manufacturer recently lost a large order from a major hotel buyer to another company whose prices he couldn't believe. The director says: "I was offering the job at £10,000, a serious discount, so that I was earning only just over cost price. The other company won the job for £3,000 less. I don't see how they can be making any money on it."
The wrong image
The Far East has long been a supplier of cheaper cutlery in standard English "Parish" patterns, such as Kings, Jesmond, Balmoral and Grecian. Some Far Eastern cutlery - produced by more experienced producers in countries such as Korea - is quite adequate. But much of it is very badly made, with rumours flying around the trade about spoons made from recycled Indian railway tracks.
Brian Pearce, purchasing director at Lockhart contract caterers, says: "You have to be careful. Some of the steel that's being used for the making of cutlery probably started life as a motor car and ends up in someone's mouth." Having said that, possibly all the UK manufacturers now use imported, Far Eastern products at the lower end of their ranges.
Part of the problem, according to the manufacturers, is inexperienced buyers who, in trying to save a bit of money, opt for inferior quality imports. Although many buyers are wise to the potential pitfalls, increasingly the buyers are young go-getters who are intent on saving money. Nigel Carter, national sales manager of Oneida Silversmiths, says: "Any buyer worth his salt will know that if he's paying £1 for a dozen teaspoons they're not going to be good."
There is obviously a market for really cheap tableware - with any mass catering operation, such as a motorway service café, where there is a high incidence of loss or rough use, cheaper versions are adequate. But what is alarming are the reports of people being given mad prices for mid- to high-end cutlery and then taking delivery of something far worse. They may think they're buying 18/8 steel (at the top end, with 8 parts nickel to 18 parts chrome) and end up with 13/0 (all chrome, no nickel).
The trouble is, only the very bad products are easy to spot. According to John Emanuel, director of cutlery company Lancaster: "Usually, you can't tell the difference without chemical anaylsis." Even with silver-plated cutlery, an inferior plating process doesn't necessarily become apparent for two or three years.
How to check for quality
Things to look out for include the finish - watch out for roughness around the edge of spoons, and between fork blades - and any pitting or staining, which gives away the really inferior products. Most importantly, if an existing range is being topped up, buyers should ensure they compare like for like - in polish, finish, weight and pliability.
Diane Goldsmith of suppliers Direct Tableware gives a good tip for testing out whether an 18/8 specified fork or spoon is what it claims to be: pass a magnet over it - 18/8 steel is not magnetic, whereas 13/0 is. (Don't pass the magnet over an 18/8 knife blade, as this is always made from 13/0; 18/8 is too brittle).
Obviously, the British Standard mark is a guarantee of quality, although the price is higher as a consequence. There are also cutlery manufacturers who stamp the grading onto their products for all to see.
The industry has a vested interest in railing against poor quality cutlery. But end users, too, know that it makes sense to buy wisely. Lockhart's Brian Pearce says: "There are certain things that make people remember your restaurant, and it's not always the food. What's the point of having nice glasses if you're going to ruin it with crappy cutlery?"
Lockhart stocks around 50 different cutlery patterns, at differing price points. A lot of it is Sheffield steel patterns, as well as silver-plated Sheffield among the mid and lower-priced chrome settings. Pearce says he has been offered some amazing deals. "We do get offered crazy prices, but it's always crazy quality."
